What do readers want?

[lovecraft68]

meh. Challenge yourself!

Stock-car racer who avoids a pit stop when everyone else comes in for tires, and ends up ahead... boom.

Lap story.

To each their own, but for me I think that's the problem.

What's the challenge? That fruit is hanging so low its rolling around on the ground.

My current challenge is my At The Moms of Madness series in the market. HP Lovecraft, his mythos and the Necronomicon meet the immortal witch who wrote the Sexmonicon in service to the great old one Cunthugga. HPL version could drive you to madness, mine drives you to whatever dirty sex act you've always desired, from gangbangs, gloryholes to banging family, read it you'll be compelled to do it.

Or I could just have some mom on a lap....reading the Necronomicon

 

[BeechLeaf]

I don't think anyone's said the obvious. Readers want a good kicking sometimes. (That is obvious, isn't it? It's not just me?)

 

[lovecraft68]

It's honestly not that difficult. Many of the genres play well together. You'd really only struggle with antithetical genres like erotic horror and romance in a way that's satisfying to lovers of both. But people enjoy a range of things, not just one genre unless they're super-niche in everything.

You mean Evil Dead Rise wasn't a romance?

 

[AStrangeDesire]

My curiosity comes from a place that posits that writing is a communicative endeavor. I totally understand 'only write for yourself' as an initial starting line, and like many here, I want to write stories that I would be interested in reading myself.

But the other part is the audience. If a work is just for you personally, it doesn't need to be published. But most of us are writing to be heard, somehow, for various reasons.

I don't seek to pander to readers' interests, but I find it instructive to know what those interests are, what readers relate to, HOW they like their funny bone tickled. On one level we are in a different place than the mainstream, where money and livelihood are major factors, yes, I understand that, but there are some of the other aspects of mainstream publishing that do work here too: fame, notoriety, the sense of making a dent in the world, a Connection with other humans.

The feedback loop here, as has been noted by many, is low-voltage and unreliable. I think more understanding of, and communication, with, readers is a worthy pursuit.

I've come to the point where I know I'm going to write stuff that I enjoy reading, but it's still nice to know that other people enjoy it too.

I'm OK with both those things being true at once.

The question gets a bit simpler if you break it down by niche. But even then, I've written a 'non-standard' MC series that's done well on scores, but not so well on views etc. So, some wanted it, and were/are willing to spend the time and stay with it, but compared to numbers in T/I it's sad to see so few people looking and voting.

In the end, it comes down to "which readers?" If I was writing for $$$ I would aim for the fat part of the distribution of readers and probably write whatever that majority would want to read, maybe that would lead to a bunch of 'son in mom's lap stories'. <shrug>

Luckily I don't have to find out

 

[AStrangeDesire]

You mean Evil Dead Rise wasn't a romance?

... still a better love story than Twighlight(tm)

C'mon, some had to say it!

 

[bi_cathy]

Readers want to be entertained. They have various needs and desires and the like, but at the end of the day, they want to be entertained. It's really that simple.

This. I’d also add “feel,” they want to feel something. Entertain them, give them something to feel, and they’ll stick around.

If someone is reading erotica, and not going for the fast gratification of watching porn, then their mind is already open to the possibility of being taken on a journey. So take them on that journey.

Personally, I don’t write to pander to any specific reader interest, I write for the journey that I’m interested in mentally going on — writing is a commitment from my mind, first and foremost, so it has to be interesting to me. And whoever follows along is welcome. I already have a lot of restrictions in my day job around what to write and for whom, I’m not going to bring that baggage with me here, in my escapist writing hobby.

My latest series was a 6-chapter 139K-word epic story centered around Eurovision with so little sex per se (with a lot of erotic and sexually-adjacent moments, though). Did readers want to read that? 139K words about a European music contest, that many Europeans consider a drinking game night, and that Americans barely ever heard about? And even those who like Eurovision think it’s a one-night event and not a multi-month epic marathon? I questioned my sanity a few times when I started working on this story, but it’s what I wanted to write, so I wrote it. I saw a lot of appreciation and love in the comments, and many told me they didn’t know Eurovision, didn’t like or care for Eurovision, or worse, hated Eurovision, and yet they were sticking around. I found them back in the comments of chapter 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. They just wanted to join my characters and me on that journey. I think that’s what readers want.

 

[lovecraft68]

... still a better love story than Twighlight(tm)

C'mon, some had to say it!

Yes, much less creepy stalker vibes in Rise

 

[Britva415]

What do you want as a reader?

Something arousing but of better taste, imagination and/or writing quality (expect at most two out of three) than your average Penthouse Letter. I will accept various values of "better," and be pleasantly surprised and appreciative when I get all three.

 

[Britva415]

And they like different things at different moments. Some of them even like 2P.

I think you have a particularly subjective perspective on that. I have liked one or two of your 2p stories but it doesn't mean i like 2p stories!

 

[Britva415]

I don't concern myself with what a frictionless spherical reader wants

fixed it for you

 

[Britva415]

Maybe my challenge is to write a lesbian story that convinces the mon-son crowd?

Maybe, but let's all recognize that that's way, way less of a challenge!

 

[Britva415]

One of the points that came up in a recent discussion was that the reader isn't being told what they're doing or thinking or feeling.

After all, nobody believes that the reader is actually experiencing the story

Says you.

I thought the same, but I got vigorously challenged when I spelled out the same opinion once.

Not by someone who actually wrote with the contrary intention, mind you. Just someone who couldn't imagine anyone writing 2p without intentionally addressing the actual reader(s).

I forget who it was

 

[sirhugs]

If I did not care about what the reader wants I would not care about comments and ratings and things, but I do so obviously I care.

But I think writing for the reader would detract from the stories. You have to write for yourself and hope readers respond.

Dang you- I was all set to be pseudo-droll and quip "who cares?" when i read your post and realized that you describes me to a T.

I just WISH I didn’t care.

Otherwise I’m with NotWise on this one.

 

[BeechLeaf]

Advertisement time. There's a new writer EmiliaStarling who's done two stories in second person: both very well-written sex scenes, where the female is reacting to the sex but it's quite odd for it be framed as second person telling what she does and how she reacts. Yet she carries it off. Do check them out if you can tolerate the viewpoint and want to see a good new writer.

 

[anthrodisiac]

Advertisement time. There's a new writer EmiliaStarling who's done two stories in second person: both very well-written sex scenes, where the female is reacting to the sex but it's quite odd for it be framed as second person telling what she does and how she reacts. Yet she carries it off. Do check them out if you can tolerate the viewpoint and want to see a good new writer.

I love when we support each other like this, @BeechLeaf. That's really when AH is at its best: Talking shop, helping out, building each other up, supporting each other, and silliness.

 

[njlauren]

An interesting discussion. I agree there is no one formula, because people on here seem to seek many different things. Some people are looking to get off and want hard core sex scenes galore and don't care about necessarily the story line, others seem to care about a well written yarn. Category seems to matter, lot of the stuff in fetish or bdsm or crossdressing or transgender is wank material, same with gay male stories. Romance I found to have a lot more story emphasis. Then we have loving wives, which has some great story writing , even some that touched me at times, some great writing, then you have the getting revenge on the bitch wife that feeds some ppl with real anger issues, authors in that category have gotten death threats , not kidding. There is also jerk material, usually the cuckold /hot wife kind of stories.

It is kind of why you need to write it for yourself. Me I haven't written all that much but I use this to practice my writing skills, and one of the things I love to do is try and make it different, even if the plot is a trope. I wrote a sequel to a story where guy found out his wife in effect had another husband/ family for many years, and he is trying to rebuild his life. The story was standard in some ways, but I threw the wrinkle in that he meets a woman he falls for who is transgender,and a lot how they both have to heal from events in their life ( didn't sit well with some of the readers, but i had enough who liked it, thought it was original and touching, made it worth it).

My take is if some people like it, I am happy with it. I could easily write a 5 star story in that category loaded with clichés, but not much fun. It is fun to mix categories,my recent long story has elements of a standard loving wives tale but with D/s involved , bi and lesbian elements, gender queerness, and I think it worked.

 

[Britva415]

Many of the genres play well together

Yeah - as evidenced by the regular "which of six potentially appropriate categories should I publish this in" posts we see

 

[AG31]

This one got me thinking, and going to the comments on my stories for research. One thing I knew already was that very few people resonate with my stories, i.e., are moved to read them, never mind comment on them. They are all short, "simple erotica." That is, minimal character and plot, but lots of effort on my part to help the reader to understand what the characters are sensing.

But what do the ones who do comment say? (the numbers refer to the number of comments)

The conclusion I draw is that every story has a different readership. But this was way fun! Thanks for the thread.

After the Idyll, 1 - matched reader's real life experience, which was dark gay BDSM.

An Enigma, 1 - This story (dark BDSM) had a long philosophical prologue, and the commenter seemed to be answering a question he saw there.

Idyll, 6 - Gay male erotic coupling. All seemed to focus on the quality of the writing.

Naked, 3 - Dark BDSM. This is my most plot dependent story, and to my mind my least successful, but most interesting. One of the three comments was a mostly positive essay by Stacnash. The other two focused on the issues rather than the sex.

Stairway to Heaven, 2 - "A fun & playful garden delight." "There's an eloquent simplicity here that I like. Nice."

Submission, 6 - A mix of appreciation for a depiction of BDSM. A couple echoed this opinion, for which I was very grateful, "I appreciate that you don't degrade your characters. There is a mutual respect."

The Recurrence, 2 - Both take an editorial critique approach. Both gave it good marks.

Twelve Maxbridge Street, 9 - My first and longest (4 lit pages). BDSM. A mix of comments on specific details, almost all positive. Here's a comment I especially appreciated, "I had no sense, during reading, that you're not a man - so I was astonished by your author's reveal. That's impressive, to carry a voice so consistently. Cudos."

Undressing, 7 - Erotic Coupling - All comments were positive along the lines of "erotic and sensual."

Vignette 01, 1 - "I wish you would use a lubricant.Otherwise it was an afternoon delight. Thank you."

Vignette 02, 2 - Two very positive comments on the BDSM experience that was portrayed.

@yowser, thanks again for providing this opportunity!!

 

[Annabelle1990]

Dang you- I was all set to be pseudo-droll and quip "who cares?" when i read your post and realized that you describes me to a T.

I just WISH I didn’t care.

Otherwise I’m with NotWise on this one.

I totally care. Once people told me I had talent - that changed things. I've never had a job. I'm just a housewife from an affluent upbringing.

 

[AG31]

But the other part is the audience. If a work is just for you personally, it doesn't need to be published. But most of us are writing to be heard, somehow, for various reasons.

My reason is to find out if there are like minded people out there. Four years ago, when I began this involvement with erotica, I was sure I was representative of a broad swath of readers. Not so. But I'm delighted when I find a like minded person.

 

[AG31]

Sorry to see that not very many respondents addressed the question about comments on their stories.

 

[TheExperimentalist]

My latest series was a 6-chapter 139K-word epic story centered around Eurovision with so little sex per se (with a lot of erotic and sexually-adjacent moments, though). Did readers want to read that? 139K words about a European music contest, that many Europeans consider a drinking game night, and that Americans barely ever heard about? And even those who like Eurovision think it’s a one-night event and not a multi-month epic marathon? I questioned my sanity a few times when I started working on this story, but it’s what I wanted to write, so I wrote it. I saw a lot of appreciation and love in the comments, and many told me they didn’t know Eurovision, didn’t like or care for Eurovision, or worse, hated Eurovision, and yet they were sticking around. I found them back in the comments of chapter 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. They just wanted to join my characters and me on that journey. I think that’s what readers want.

"Choke me, ch-ch-ch-ch-choke me, ch-ch-ch-ch-choke me, ch-ch-ch-ch-choke me!" (IYKYK)

 

[TheExperimentalist]

Alright, I should probably give at least one serious response here amidst all the joking and banter.

I'll say that asking what readers want, as if there's a magic formula to cater to the monolithic group of Readers is just as likely to be effective as asking what women want, or what men want, or what any demographic wants. There's no one right answer, and the key is to find an audience/significant other/friend/whatever whose wants mesh well with what you have to offer. There are certain things that are pretty universal NOT to want, such as poor grammar or spelling, repetitive sentence structure, etc. but in terms of what you CAN put in a story, I don't think there's any one right answer.

 

[AStrangeDesire]

I can tell you what readers definitely do NOT want: https://forum.literotica.com/threads/there-was-no-punch-line-expectation-subversion-contest.1655587

 

[anthrodisiac]

"I had no sense, during reading, that you're not a man - so I was astonished by your author's reveal. That's impressive, to carry a voice so consistently. Cudos."

Which just goes to show that it's not impossible for women to convincingly write men, and for men to convincingly write women. Good job